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BoJack Horseman

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TV Series Review

It might seem that the phrases "existential pathos" and "animated talking horse" would be, in most conceivable worlds, mutually exclusive. Like, say, "liver" and "ice cream" or "skateboard" and "goldfish," it doesn't seem like one should have anything to do with the other.

But that was before Netflix's BoJack Horseman rode into town.

A Horse Is a Horse, of Course … of Course?

BoJack is a horse. And a man. He's also the former star of Horsin' Around, a wildly popular (if critically scorned) 1990s sitcom that propelled him to a life of comfort and C-list celebrity. He lacks for little.

And yet, he still feels like there's something missing. That his past success isn't enough to fill the aching void in his life. He wonders what would make his life feel more worthwhile. A return to the top of the celebrity heap? A hit movie? An Oscar? What about a new, wildly sexual relationship with a buzzy reality star? Or is he missing something deeper? Something more intrinsic?

But before he can delve too deeply into such questions, his agent, a cat named Princess Carolyn, gets him a gig on a TV game show. Or he has to bail his shiftless, slacker human roomie, Todd, out of jail. Or deal with friend-rival golden retriever, Mr. Peanutbutter. It's always something.

Yes, BoJack Horseman is a very strange show—one that might explore the insanity of celebrity while a character holds a book titled "A Tale of Two Kitties," or mull middle-age melancholy by a jukebox playing "Macaque the Knife."

Hoofing It

The Season Three poster for BoJack Horseman namechecks some of television's most notoriously angsty antiheroes: "Soprano. Draper. Underwood. Horseman." It's a joke, only not really. Which neatly encapsulates the show itself. It's funny, only not really.

Few folks really knew what to make of BoJack Horseman when Netflix unveiled it in 2014. But critics have warmed to the show: It sports a 100% "freshness" rating on Rotten Tomatoes and won the Critics' Choice Television Awards for Best Animated Series in 2016.

And the series does have some merit. In fact, in its own strange way, BoJack emphasizes many of the same messages that we're always harping on at Plugged In. Its surreal take on Hollywood and celebrity culture emphasizes just how crazy it all is in real life. And BoJack's selfish, vacuous existence—and his occasional misgivings about it—reminds viewers that it's far better to have a real connection with others than it is to have fame and fortune.

"But that's the whole point," the spider says. "Nothing lasts." Lines like that one remind us that it's not just talking horses that can set the wrong priorities, imagining that fleeting fame and fortune might satisfy. We do it, too.

But while Plugged In can mine a few decent messages from BoJack Horseman, that hardly mitigates the show's messes.

Just Say Neigh

Netflix rates BoJack for mature audiences only, and it earns that rating every five minutes or so. In the midst of his perpetual existential crisis, BoJack sleeps around a lot. We hear banter about sex and sometimes see BoJack and his latest conquest in various stages of animated undress. Abortion and forbidden relationships have popped up as plot points, too.

And while violence isn't a regular part of the show, it can rear its horsey head at times. Indeed, sometimes sex and violence mix, such as the time BoJack was accused of murdering a stripper in Season Three. Meanwhile, in Season Four we see BoJack's grandmother allow her daughter to drive—never mind that the older woman is drunk and that she tries violently to grab the wheel.

Then there's the language: Uncensored s-words fly, along with a stable of other profanities. Bojack and others also rely heavily on alcohol, and sometimes on illicit drugs, to get them through the day.

BoJack Horseman makes me a little sad, and not just because of the show's bleak, melancholy tone. This animated dramedy has something to say. But the way it says it leaves a lot to be desired. This is one horse you don't want to look in the mouth: You never know what might be going in it or coming out of it.

Positive Elements

Spiritual Content

Sexual Content

Violent Content

Crude or Profane Language

Drug and Alcohol Content

Other Negative Elements

Conclusion

Pro-social Content

Objectionable Content

Summary Advisory

Plot Summary

Christian Beliefs

Other Belief Systems

Authority Roles

Profanity/Violence

Kissing/Sex/Homosexuality

Discussion Topics

Additional Comments/Notes

Episode Reviews

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BoJack Horseman: Sept. 8, 2017 "See Mr. Peanutbutter Run (Episode 1)"

Season Four's opening episode begins with a missing BoJack. In his absence, the golden retriever Mr. Peanutbutter decides he wants to run for governor of California. That whips Diane into a frenzy, and she repeatedly tries to reach BoJack. Although he doesn't answer, Diane keeps calling him daily to give him updates on what's happening.

We see a flashback to Mr. Peanutbutter's rise to fame in 1992. Back in the present, he's running for governor of California against Governor Woodchuck Coodchuck-Berkowitz—a bizarre turn of events given how Mr. Peanutbutter had only been known for being a TV celebrity. Having no political skills, Mr. Peanutbutter must resort to crowd hype in order to gain the trust of his fans. So he challenges the current governor to a ski race, a contest Woodchuck agrees to once several laws are overruled and the Constitution is changed. (The thinly veiled satirical humor here obviously comments upon our current political moment.)

Elsewhere, Todd has recently been dumped by his girlfriend for being, supposedly, asexual. To help ease his post-breakup pain, Todd's girlfriend gives him a drone on which to ride and eat kettle corn. Courtesy of that drone, Todd accidentally wins the ski race, making him the surprising new governor of California. But he declines that honor, which in turn sends Mr. Peanutbutter back into a campaign frenzy.

Diane makes a crude reference to a celebrity's genitals. Mr. Peanutbutter tells a transgender joke. The governor's wife is shown in pink lingerie. Princess Carolyn's lover, the Mouse, refers to their sex life. Conversation about a past pregnancy perhaps alludes at an abortion, though now Carolyn seems open to an intentional pregnancy. There's also a reference to babies having access to vaping devices.

We hear one use each of "a--hole," "h---" and a misuse of the Lord's name. Someone says Mr. Peanutbutter has a "dumb dog brain."

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Bojack Horseman: June 22, 2016 "Start Spreading the News"

Secretariat, the movie that Bojack Horseman believes may be his ticket back to relevancy, is done. And Bojack's on the junket circuit, doing publicity in the hope of garnering an Oscar nomination. But he's harboring a deep, dark, secret: While he supposedly stars in the movie, it's not really him at all.

Bojack goes to bed with a manatee journalist. We see both of them partially undressed, with Bojack in his boxer shorts and the manatee in her bra, and they talk sexually to each other. But the interlude is cut short when the manatee says something that reminds Bojack of a horrific mistake he nearly made last season. (Bojack visited an old flame and was nearly seduced by her daughter, who was about to graduate high school.) Bojack's would-be romp with the manatee was precipitated by drinking during his interview with her. (He orders three whiskey sours while she quaffs champagne.) He also drinks heavily during other interviews, with piles of empty liquor bottles beside his chair. He pours booze into his milk and passes out for the rest of the night, while another accidentally drinks the milk and has hallucinations. Characters smoke too.

When Bojack finds slacker Todd stowed away in his suitcase, Bojack's publicist Ana quips that he "smuggled a young boy into his hotel" and dismissively says that movie stars do that sort of thing all the time. In the opening credits, an animated woman swims past the camera in a bikini. We hear references to someone not wearing underwear. Someone wants Bojack to star in an avant-garde play in which he would appear naked and covered in milk.

A pigeon tries to commit suicide by jumping from a rooftop, and she curses when she remembers she has wings. Bojack, who's tired of answering the same questions, makes a reference to wanting to "blow my brains out." Characters say the s-word four times, "a--" three times, "h---" a couple of times and misuse God's name four times (once with the word "d--n"). Someone wonders whether "dyke" is OK to say again.

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